Teen arrested over Bhutto assassination

PAKISTANI police have arrested a teenager who was allegedly part of a five-man squad assigned to kill opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month, security officials said.

The suspect, 15-year-old Aitezaz Shah, was arrested in the north-western city of Dera Ismail Khan while planning a suicide bombing during the Muslim festival of Ashura.

Shah told interrogators he had been part of a back-up team of three bombers who were tasked with killing the former premier if the original December 27 attack by two men had failed.

Interior ministry spokesman Iqbal Cheema could not confirm the arrest.

Ms Bhutto was assassinated in a gun and suicide bomb attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi. The government and CIA have blamed al-Qaeda and tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud for her killing.
Shah, originally from the southern city of Karachi, went for training last year at a camp run by one of Mehsud's commanders in the tribal border region of Waziristan, security officials quoted him as telling investigators.

He allegedly said the attackers in the team that killed Ms Bhutto were called Bilal and Ikramullah - the same names mentioned in an alleged telephone conversation between Mehsud and another militant the day after Ms Bhutto's death.

The tape was released the day after her killing by Pakistan's interior ministry.

Shah's whereabouts at the time of the attack were not immediately clear. One security official said he was in Rawalpindi, the city where Ms Bhutto was killed, while another said he was in the tribal area of Waziristan.

One of the officials said Shah was arrested during a security check when he arrived in Dera Ismail Khan by taxi from the North Waziristan tribal area, which borders Afghanistan.

He allegedly told officials that he came to collect a suicide jacket for an attack at the US consulate in Karachi, but the plan had been changed because of tight security for Ashura, which takes place tomorrow.

Instead, he was ordered to launch an attack during an Ashura procession by the minority Shi'ite sect tomorrow, the officials said.

News.com.au

Quote:Force of blast killed Bhutto, not bullet: report

( A supporter of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto erects party flags next to her poster ) .
British police have concluded that Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide bomb and not by an assassin's bullet, The New York Times reported in its Friday editions.
The findings, if confirmed, would support the Pakistani government's explanation of Bhutto's death.

Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police, which sent investigators to examine her death, declined to comment on the report. A spokesman said the police force would not discuss its findings until they were made public.

Bhutto died on December 27 while campaigning in Rawalpindi.

Controversy rages in Pakistan over whether the popular politician was struck down by a bullet or by a concussive injury caused by the bomb, detonated after an assassin shot at her from close range.

President Pervez Musharraf asked Scotland Yard to help in the investigation. A poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan found almost half of all Pakistanis believed government agencies or politicians allied to Musharraf were involved in the killing.

The British police report, which will be presented to the Pakistani government and Bhutto's family on Friday, said Bhutto died after the suicide blast detonated and she hit her head, the Times said.

It quoted "officials who have been briefed on the inquiry," but did not identify which country the officials came from.

The newspaper also said the inquiry determined a single gunman, whose image was captured in photographs at the scene, caused the explosion. Government officials in Pakistan initially said there were two assailants, according to The Times.

Investigators shared the findings with Musharraf's government on Thursday, the newspaper said.

After the assassination, government officials asserted that Bhutto died after striking her head, but many Pakistanis did not accept that explanation.

The Times said it was unclear how Scotland Yard reached its conclusions. Bhutto was buried without an autopsy and the crime scene was cleaned immediately after the blast, potentially washing away vital clues.

The report comes less than two weeks before Pakistan's parliamentary elections on February 18, which were delayed by Bhutto's slaying.

As thousands gathered to mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for Bhutto, Pakistani authorities announced two "important arrests" in connection with her assassination.

A senior police officer in Rawalpindi identified the suspects as Hasnain and Rifaqat, but gave no other details. Two others, including a 15-year-old who admitted being a backup suicide bomber, were arrested last month.